Polish nurse who abused 21 children deported from Britain

A Polish nursery worker, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for cruelly abusing 21 young children at two nurseries in West London, has been deported back to her home country after serving a short sentence of just 14 months. The 23-year-old woman, Roxana Leca, committed these crimes over a period of about seven months in 2023 and 2024, and she was deported to Poland last February under the British government's early removal scheme.

She committed cruel abuses such as hitting, kicking, and pinching young children at the now-closed Riverside Nursery in Twickenham and the Little Munchkins Nursery in Hounslow, where she worked. She admitted to abusing seven children, and was found guilty of abusing 14 other children. However, she attempted to justify her crimes by claiming that these actions occurred due to insomnia and addiction to cannabis and vaping.

The parents of the affected children have expressed strong anger regarding this decision, and they were informed about her release less than a week prior. One father, whose son was physically abused by Leca, told the BBC that her deportation after 14 months, including time spent on remand, is completely unacceptable and very difficult to comprehend. He further stated that the time and emotions he invested in the trial have been undervalued by this, and as one of the parents calling for child abusers to be denied early release privileges, he accused the government of focusing more on cost-saving than upholding the principles of justice.

It is reported that Leca will not face any legal action in Poland after being deported to her home country, and there is a risk that she could re-enter the field of working with children. One mother stated that her son suffered severe bruises on his body due to Leca's pinching, and that he still sleeps with her due to the trauma. Criticizing the functioning of the UK judicial system, she emphasized that releasing such a criminal to another country without any follow-up or accountability poses a serious risk of her committing similar abuses against other children again.

Commenting on this incident, Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, warned that this could create a trend where foreign criminals come to Britain, commit crimes, and are released before victims receive proper justice. She strongly criticized the communication failures that occurred during her deportation. Meanwhile, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson stated that Leca is completely banned from re-entering the UK, and that under the government's program for deporting foreign national offenders, over 5,000 criminals were deported last year alone, which is a 14% increase from the previous year.